The Chrome Chronicles Blog

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I came across the Chrome Chronicles and Eilish Foxen on a Facebook group where she had shared one of her blog posts on handstand progress...I read it and was thoroughly intrigued by her fiery personality and the bluntness with which she wrote in her posts - real talk I think we call it nowadays!

I guarantee by reading Chrome Chronicles you will be entertained and informed more about the process of us average, every-day people that start down this fabulous journey of becoming pole dancers!

Eilish Foxen doin' her thang! @jessmorephotography

The call to pole...

What is it about pole dancing that called to you? How did you first get started?

Haha, that’s quite funny as it goes! I literally got into pole (I think, it was three years ago I began and a lot has gone down in that time) because both myself and one of my besties decided we wanted to take up a new hobby.

After a couple of lessons (I wasn’t hooked straight from the get-go as in our taster session I couldn’t even manage a fucking back hook) I began to get into pole dance. In fact it reminded me of the old ballet lessons I used to love going to when I was a kid, and began to stir up my passion for dance once again, so I kept at it!

I’m definitely not a natural dancer, and it takes me a fair few attempts to crack a move, but I’ve stuck at pole and some progress has been made in that time I suppose. If all else fails I can usually manage a back hook now!

A blog is born.

I love your sense of humour and all of the swearing in Chrome Chronicles…its like I can hear your voice right in front of me! I freakin’ love your opening post “Oh, Hey!” What brought you to start blogging and how has it impacted you in your pole world?

Ah thank you my dear! That’s a sweet thing to say. Well, many moons ago I did my degree in Magazine Journalism and Feature Writing at uni. As well as pole, writing has been another huge passion of mine since I was a kid. I used to write for various, heavy metal music magazines and websites over in the UK, as metal is another keen interest of mine.

My interest dwindled slightly in metal over the years (I do still love it, but pole has far overtaken it in my list of obsessions) but I still wanted to keep writing so I thought fuck it, I’ll start a pole dance blog and see what happens!

I’m happy to say it has impacted me wonderfully in the pole world so far! I have made some awesome new friends (yourself included) as a result of spamming my blog posts far and wide in various pole groups, got to interview some of my pole idols and have written about some badass competitions and shows.

Chrome Chronicles has definitely made me feel happy to be part of the pole community…I just hope people enjoy reading it! I’m studying for some muggle stuff at the moment, but once that’s out of the way I plan to turn Chrome Chronicles into a shiny new website and do a lot more with it (a bit like Learn Pole Dancing) so watch this space *rubs fingers together in plot to take over the world*.

Yay! I can't wait to see that unfold. I enjoy how “real” you are about the issues that amateur pole dancers face in the Chrome Chronicles blog – availability of time, lack of motivation, lack of flexibility, yada, yada – we all know what they are because we have to deal with them! What made you want to speak from this perspective as opposed to someone like myself whose website/blog is more focused on resources and information for the new poler?

BTW My favorite Chrome Chronicles post is: "Pole Dancing on a HANGOVER!!!"I had to laugh because that is so me…hung the f#ck over from the night before wishing I had some energy to climb or spin on a sweet, sunny Sunday afternoon. NOT HAPPENING!

Again thank you for saying you enjoy Chrome Chronicles! That means a lot to me. I guess it came from my pole progress hitting a wee bit of a plateau. I started my blog pretty much exactly a year ago, and I wasn’t quite progressing as fast as I wanted to at pole. I would constantly stalk my pole idols on Instagram and see them doing some crazy shit, like over –Jade’s, Extreme Scorpios etc etc.

Seeing all this unadulterated badassery didn’t put me off pole dancing, far from it. In fact it motivated me to push myself, practice harder and learn more about pole dance.

In my quest to become an A-grade pole boff, I did a weency bit of online research and pole reading. Well, I mainly ended up oogling at various pole clothing websites and creating wish lists, but you get the point.

I noticed that there were tonnes of fantastic, knowledgeable sites and blogs out there (much like yours) with plenty of handy, expert opinions but not so many sites for average Jane’s who are either new to pole or amateurs, just wanting to see what life is like in the pole world when (unfortunately) you don’t have the time to dedicate your life to it due to having homes to run, jobs to go to, shits to take, etc etc. Spotting a gap in the online market, I literally just thought “screw it, I’ll set up a blog and see how I get on” and now I quite enjoy it!

What inspires you to write a new blog post for Chrome Chronicles?

Oh, I’ve got two answers for this one! Firstly, my inspiration for my posts comes from usually what pole adventures I’ve got going on at the time. For example, as its February right now (lol state the fucking obvious why don’t I) I have been blogging about Handstand February, in the run up to shows and competitions, I’ll blog about my top tips for routing writing and creating a killer costume, and if I’m watching a competitions, I’ll review those.

However, what really inspires me to keep going with my blog and try and turn it into a success are my dogs! First off, yes you can laugh at that barking mad (lol) reason! Basically, I am utterly obsessed with dogs and have two rescue Greyhounds, Bruno and Lola.

It is my dream in life to write professionally for a living, and the thought of being able to work from home and be with my dogs all day would be my idea of a perfect existence! I’m hoping that one day, my blog will be my ‘proper’ job so to speak and I can work from the sofa with my pooches!

That sounds like a plan to work towards! The Chrome Chronicles blog post “Why Pole Dancing is Brilliant for Your Mental Health” made me just say "Yes, yes, and a resounding YES!" I completely agree with this post and I am happy to hear that pole dance has been a happy pill for you. Pole has been total therapy for me for dealing with PTSD and working through the grief of losing my spouse…how else has pole brought sunshine and rainbows into your life?

First off I am very sorry to hear that you lost your spouse my dear. I am so glad to hear that pole is helping you in that respect. Pole can be such a positive tool at times and the collective pole community can be a real source of support too. We’re here for you.

This is going to sound very cheesey, but pole has blessed me with the best friends on the fucking planet. My pole squad mean so much to me and I love them to death. I never expected to gain such a close group of buddies from pole and it’s an utterly wonderful thing to have.

They’re probably going to take the piss out of me for saying this if they’re reading it (which they better be, the dickheads) but they mean so much to me and have made my pole journey an awesome one so far!

Favorite pole things...

Right, well as a proud authentic/stripper style pole dancer, I love the smaller outfits! Bad Kitty Bitsy Bottoms are awesome, and Rad do some teeny pants too. I’m also a big bit of a goth, and brands like Disturbia and KillStar clothing do great bikinis and underwear that are perfect for pole! There are some fab UK based brands too like PoleHog and Hoodlum Fang, who make great polewear with really cool patterns on too.

As for shoes I LOVE my Pleasers! The higher and bolder the better. I am currently comfy in my 8 inchers, but it’s my goal to one day be able to bust out an aerial Shoulder Mount in a pair of 10 inch bad boys one day!

While we’re on the subject of Pleasers, my pal is a sick artist and customised a pair for me with the album artwork of my favourite band Cannibal Corpse. They’re the sickest pair of shoes I’ve ever seen and miraculously they stood the test of a good few shoe bangs!

I love my Pleasers too! Do you have any fave grip/skin products that are your go-to salvation for sweaty palms, dry legs, pole problem areas?

Well, in your average lesson I cover my sweaty palms (especially when it’s time to try a new trick and the new trick, pant-shitting fear kicks in) in about 5 gallons of good old faithful Dry Hands.

Dew Point is also great for making your legs nice and grippy, but I never have any floating around and always borrow my friend’s. Guys, if you’re reading this I’m so sorry and I’ll put 20p in the Dew Point fund.

And for the pole idols...

Pole idols…we all have them and we all love to talk about what it is that we love about them…so go on sweetie, gush away!

Here we fucking go! Where do I even begin?! I would say I’m a massive fan girl for the Australian style of pole dance. I love how those Queens manage to combine both the sexy and the more fitness/trick based styles of poling to create dances so fucking cool I’m sat gawping at YouTube like I’ve just seen Ned Stark’s head get chopped off all over again.

I would say Cleo the Hurricane (she was the first I feel head over heels in love with), Michelle Shimmy, Amy Hazel, Miss Filly and of course Felix Cane are pole pioneers for me.

I am also about as flexible bloody lamp post, so any ridiculously bendy dancers like Kitty Velour and Lux ATL always astound me. Dan Rosen is also one of my faves too, as he has such a strong, versatile style that he can adapt for any kind of performance, he is a real joy to watch.

However my absolute favourite who is getting an entire paragraph of adoration has to be Beth Finlay. Holy fucking shit. She’s incredible, she’s amazing, she’s a freaking tattooed warrior of a woman who I’ve never seen anyone move like before. Seriously, how can a human being be that fucking brilliant?! Has she sold her soul to the devil for those epic dancing abilities?

She’s so damn strong, bendy AND sexy she blows my tiny mind. Doing clock leg Ayesha’s then dropping into the splits is enough to have me blown away, but she can do so much more than that too. She’s just the best dancer I’ve ever seen and if I become even a fraction as good as she is I would be beyond happy. Beth if you’re reading this, I’m your biggest fan and you’re the freaking best!

@jessmorephotography

Competition time?

Any dreams of competing ever?

Yes, as it goes. The city Bristol where I live has a fabulous regional competition called The Bristol Pole Championships which I am entering this year and am currently in the process of putting a routine together for. It’s a really cool competition and the initial entry round is a video entry, which is a nice gentle introduction to competing for newbies like me!

I also love the artwork and creativity that goes behind more theatrical pieces, so it’s my dream to enter Pole Theatre one year. I am also a proud supporter of filthy fucking floorwork, so would love to enter something like Dance Filthy or Floorplay one of these days, but I am nowhere near good enough for that level yet!

Overall, I think entering competitions is important for your pole progression. They have certainly helped motivate me to drag my sorry ass into the studio and practice when I would rather be permitting away at home re-watching Game of Thrones!

Also putting routines together boosts both your stamina and confidence, so if anyone is reading this and considering competing (puts on Arnold Schwarzenegger voice) DO IT DO IT NOWWWW!!

Five-year pole-goal plan anyone?

Agreed! “The Bastarding Superman” post describes my feelings about the move almost to a “T”. I still have yet to get myself into position without cursing everyone around me! What are your big pole trick goals? Do you have any or do you just take the challenges as they come?

Mate that bloody, piss pot Superman has been the bane of my life for nearly two years now. It’s an brilliant trick and I think it looks fab, but fuck me it’s an utter c*nt (feel free to add a star in that word if you wish!) to train. I just can’t seem to twist my hips around enough. I’ll conquer you one day, ya bastard!

Anyway, I tend to have lots of achievable pole goals set out that I like to plod my way through. In previous years they have been very performance based goals, such as entering shows and competitions, however this year my goals are more move progression based.

By the end of the year, I would like to be able to Superman (PAH!), Allegra (another nemesis move), Stag, Shoulder Mount confidently on both sides, be able to split on my good side and invert climb over to the top of the pole. Oh, and manage to arms only climb 2/3 of the way up the pole…so not much! To be honest if I can tick off half that list I’ll be happy!

Chrome Chronicles reads like a juicy book…I felt like making my favorite gin and tonic, getting under my fuzzy blankie by the fireplace and just keep reading…but it ended! I want MORE! I hope you plan on keeping the good stuff rolling out?

Oh yes. As I said in question two, I plan to feed Chrome Chronicles a hefty dose of Weetabix and bulk her out nicely. As well as turning her into a great big website, I want to create Chrome Chronicles Facebook and Twitter profiles and (if I’m brave enough) a YouTube Channel too! As soon as I have some free time again, Chrome Chronicles is getting my undivided attention.

Oh fucking hell, you’re asking the woman who has the concentration face of a slobbering mastiff trying to hump a sofa! In all honesty when performing I cake on the makeup, and, routine depending, smile or pout my way through the whole thing!